Method and machine for mounting coiled filaments



Feb. 3, 1931. REGENSTREIF 1 1,791,378

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MOUNTING COILED FILAMENTS Filed April 1. 1927 ANCHOR E? INSERTING q SHAPING :1: 4 HEATING Posmoms ANCHOR HooK CLOSING In Vnt 01" I Ja Ob Re gen str'ei'f,

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Patented Febo 3, 193B.

. entree stares earner series JAKOB BEG-ENSTRm, E BEJRWT, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 GENERAL ELEWRIC COM- PANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MOUNTING CQILED FILAI'EEN'ES Application filed April 1, 1927, Serial Ito. 180,276, and in Germany Hay 1, 1926.

The mounting of the coiled filaments for electric incandescent lamps on the stems-has hitherto been done by hand and mostly in such manner that the coiled filament was 5 drawn through loops of the filament supports and either tightly clamped or welded to the lead wires. This drawing of the filament through the support loops and clamping it to the lead wires require considerable m. skill and also consumes considerable time, consequently several operators have hitherto been required for each support inserting machine and sealing-in machine to mount the filaments as fast as the machines produced stems.

Une object of the invention is to simplify and render essentially automatic the mounting of coiled filaments of electric incandescent lamps, so that the mounting can advantageously be done on the support inserting machine without special operators. To this end, in accordance with the invention, the ends of the supports are first bent into hook form, as in mounting a stretched zig-zag shaped filament wound on the supports, then the coiled filamentis laid in these open hooks, and thereupon the hooks are closed into eyes enclosing the filament. The coiled filament is also advantageously and simultaneously as laid in the hooks of the lead wires and then clamped or welded to them so that when the support hooksare bent over into eyes the filament is completely and securely mounted on the stem.

For carrying out this invention or method, use can be made for example, of a filament support inserting machine of the kind in which, in several successive working positions', the supports are inserted in a fused or 40 softened glass bead of the arbor or center support rod, and their free ends are turned over by dies into hooks. This support inserting machine is, in accordance with the invention, provided with a feeding device actuated to move horizontally in a plane above the supports for the coiled filament. As soon as the filament, which is placed'on the feeding device by the operator of the sup port inserting machine, is brought by the forward movement of the feeding device above the support, the filament is by relative movement of the feeding device and the stem delivered from the feeding device into the hooks of the supports, and if desired, also into the hooks of the lead wires, whereupon the hooks need merely be closed on the filament by suitable slides, punches or clamps.

One form of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a filament support inserting machine of the rotary type and suitable for carrying out the process.

F i re 2 is a sectional view of the hook bending part of the machine.

Figures 3 and d are sectional and plan as views respectively of a feeding device for coiled filaments.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a punching device for closing the support hooks; and

Figure 6 shows on an enlarged scale a filamentsupportwith a hook closed on a coiled filament.

The filament support inserting machine, diagrammatically shown and o crating substantially as shown in United tates patent K5 to Schluter, No. 1,238,575, Au ust 28, 1917, is rotated step by step in any own manner and has a number of stem holders or clamping devices arranged in a circle for the reception of the finished stems, which, as usual, consist for example, of a stem tube or flare a, Figure 2, an exhaust tube 6, an arbor or central rod 0 and leads e fused into the press 07. The finished stems are introduced into the stem holders or clamping devices of the machine at working position 1 in the direction of arrow 7 either by hand or automatically, as by means of grippers of anannealing oven attached to the stem-making machine. In position 2 of the support inserting machine, the two leads e provided at their free ends with hooks, are bent in a known manner auto matically into the position in which they can later be united to the coiled filament to be attached. In position 3, 4 and 5, preheating 9 and fusing flames g are provided to melt the lower part of the stem 0 and prepare it for the reception of the filament supports it. In position 6 of the machine, the wire which serves for making the supports 72, is wound off we eally on the pin.

in the usual manner from the supply spools 2' and is bent at the ends into books by pressing and clamping jaws m arranged on the small table 70, and is then cut off close behind these jaws. Then in this working position 6 the stem holder holding the stem is automatically lowered in order, as shown in Figure 2, to form a glass button for receiving the inwardly directed ends of the anchors by striking against a stop a the softened glass bead suspended from the supporting stem 0.

The stem provided with the filament supports It comes into position 7 of the machine for cooling and in position 8 is within reach of a feeding device for the filament located adjacent to but outside of the path of movement of the stem and the stem holder. The feeding device is movable in a horizontal plane above the filament supports andconsists, in the example shown, of a lever p mounted on a vertical pin 0 to swing horizontally and at the same time to move Verti- This lever p is, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, formed at the forward end into a fork open in a direction toward the machine, and in its upper surface an approximateiy annular groove 9 is formed. The coiled filament is placed by the operator of the support inserting machine in this groove 1 when the lever p is in the outer position. At the points where the filament is to be fastened to the supports it, slots 8 placed perpendicularly to the lever p and traversing the groove 9 are provided. The broad slots 6 located in the forked part of lever 39 serve for the convenient swinging in of the lever 17 as also for the passage of the lead wires e to be united to the filament 7".

For the purpose of placing the filament r in the hooks of the filament supports it and also of the lead wires 6 the lever 72 is first swung inwardly until the coiled filament lying in the groove (1 is centered above the filament supports. Thereupon the lever p is moved downwardly by the automatic control of the machine until it is below the supports. By this downward movement of the lever p not only is the filament hung in the books of the filament supports h, but the ends of the filament projecting into the broad slot 23 are at the same time brought into the hooks of the lead wires 0 as these books stand in the same plane as the support hooks. On both sides of the hooks provided on the lead wires are fastening devices, such as two welding clamps it connected to a current source, which. upon the positioning of the filament '1' are moved toward each other. whereby they not only tightly clamp the filament into the closed hooks of the lead wires, but also simultane ously weld it to them. After positioning and welding the filaments the supporting frame of the stem holder is raised so far that the supports it together with the positioned filament rise above the plane of oscillation of the machine.

the feed lever 72. Sinmltaneously with or shortly after this upward movement of the stem holder the feed lever 5is also raised into its plane of oscillation and then again swung outwardly to receive another filament. In the meantime there occurs av step forward of The stem, with the positioned and fastened coiled filament, is moved into position 9 and at once upon entering this position is moved down somewhatuntil the interior legs of the supports, as shown in Figure 5, bear against stationary stops v. As soon as this downward movement is finished, the outer free upright legs of the anchors are bent over to the inside by the inward movementof radially set punches or slides to arranged in this working position, so as to produce, as shown in Figure 6. from these support hooks, eyes in which the coiled filament r is enclosed in a manner to prevent it from dropping out. In position 10 the complete mount is taken from the support inserting machine.

The forked part of the feeding device can be formed in accordance with the shape of the coiled filament. The feeding device can furthermore instead of consisting of an oscillating lever, be a slide movable radially of the machine. The feeder device can also 1n lace of the inserting groove have a number 0 supporting hooks which are displaced relatively to those of the filament supports so that the latter can, in the relatively perpendicular displacement of the feeder device and the supporting frame, pass through the spaces between hooks of the feeding device at the same time taking hold of the filament. The carrying over of the filament to the supports can also be effected by lowering of the feed lever p or by the reverse operation of raising the supporting frame.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The method of mounting a filament on a stem comprising filament supports with hooks on the end and two lead wires having on the ends hooks in substantially the plane of the hooks on said supports, which consists in placing a filament in said support hooks and simultaneously placing its ends insaid lead wire hooks, and then closing all of said books on said filament.

2. The method of mounting a filament on a stem having two lead wires having open books on the ends and filament supports projecting from said stem with open books on the free ends of said supports, intermediate said lead hooks,which consists in bending the filament into shape to fit into all of said hooks. placing said bent filament in said open hooks, and closing said hooks over said filament.

3. The method of mounting a filament having a centered arbor, and a plurality of filament supports inserted in said arbor to project radially and bent at their free ends into open hooks in substantially the same plane and distributed about said arbor as a center, which comprises curving the filament to fit into said hooks, placing said filament while so curved in said open hooks, and closing said hooks into eyes over said filament.

i. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a movable carrier, a stem holder on said carrier for holding a stem with two lead wires and an arbor in vertical position, and filament support inserting means adjacent the path of said arbor for inserting supports horizontally in said arbor and bending the free ends of said supports into open hooks, of a filament feeding member mounted to move horizontally into delivery position over said supports to bring a filament into registry with said hooks, said member and said holder being vertically movable relatively to each other while said member is in delivery position and thereby place said filament in said hooks.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a movable carrier, a stem holder on said carrier for holding vertically a stem with two hooked lead wires and a central arbor, and filament support inserting means adjacent the path of said arbor for inserting supports horizontally in said arbor and bending the free ends of said supports into open hooks, of a filament feed member having a groove for a filament, and slots transverse said groove corresponding to said supports and to the lead wires of said stem, said member being mounted to move horizontally into position above said supports with said slots in registry with said hooks on said supports and on said lead wires and vertically to cause said hooks to pass through said slots and thereby engage said filament.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a movable carrier, a stem holder on said carrier for holding a stem with a central arbor and two lead wires with open hooks on the ends, filament support inserting means adjacent the path of said arbor for inserting supports horizontally in said arbor, and bending the free ends of said supports into open hooks, of a filament feeding member mounted to move transversely of said arbor into delivery position over said supports to bring a filament into registry with said open hooks, said member and said holder being movable longitudinally of said arbor and relatively to each other 1 while said member is in delivery position to place said filament in said hooks, two pairs of fastening jaws mounted in position to engage the ends of said lead wires and join them to said filaments, and means for bending said support hooks over said filament.

with a central arbor and two lead wires with open hooks on their ends and filament support inserting means adjacent the path of said arbor for inserting supports in and transversely of said arbor and bending the free ends of said supports into open hooks, of a filament feeding member mounted to move transversely of said arbor into delivery position over said supports to bring a filament into registry with all said open hooks, said member and said holder being movable relatively to each other and longitudinally of said arbor while said member is in delivery position to place said filament in said hooks, and a plurality of pairs of pinching jaws mounted to register with said hooks on said supports and in said leads and movable radially and transversely of said arbor to close all said hooks over said filament.

8. lin a machine of the character described, the combination of a bodily movable stem holder having mounted adjacent its path at predetermined points a hook forming device, comprising a plurality of pairs of hook forming jaws radially disposed about a common center in registry with one of said points, a filament delivery device movable transversely of said path into alignment with said holder at another of said points and away from said holder while in alignment therewith, a hook closing device comprising a plurality of pairs of hook closing jaws for closing open hooks on the free ends of filament supports on the stem in said holder,-

and driving means for intermittently moving said holder to said predetermined points in its path and for actuating each of said devices in succession while said stem holder is in operative relation to said device.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable carrier, a plurality of stem holders mounted on said carrier to be movable transversely of the direction of movement of said carrier, a lead bending mechanism, an anchor inserting mechanism, a filament mounting mechanism for placing a filament in the hooks of said anchors and leads, and an anchor closing mechanism mounted side by side adj acentthe path of said carrier in position to register with the stem holders on said carrier, and common actuating mechanism for moving said carrier operative relation to each of said mechanisms while in registry with it and actuating each mechanism while said stem holder is in operative relation to it.

10. In a machine of the character described,- the combination of a horizontally rotatable carrier, a plurality of stem holders mounted on the rim of said carrier to reciproc'ate vertically, a filament mounting mechanism for placing a filament in the hooks of anchors in said stem, and an anchor hook closing mechanism mounted adjacent the path of said carrier, and common actuating 5 means for said carrier and said mechanisms for intermittently rotating said carrier to bring each stem holder in succession into 1'eg istry with said mounting mechanism and then with said hook closing mechanism and for lowering each stem holder while in registry with each of said mechanisms to bring the anchors of a-stem in said holder into operative relation to said mechanisms and for actuating said filament mounting mechanism to place a filament in the hooks of the anchors and for actuating said hook closing mechanism to bend the ends of the anchors about the filament.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of March, 1927.

JAKOB REGENSTREJW. 

